.jpg)
End-to-end encryption is a digital protection for online interactions, depending on the apps you use and the encryption standards they maintain, although it is already used by many of the most popular messaging apps.
But understanding end-to-end encryption is crucial to maintaining privacy in people’s increasingly digital lives.
You may be interested: Gangs would use Spotify to launder money
Although end-to-end encryption effectively protects messages, it is not foolproof against all cyber threats and requires you to actively manage your privacy settings.
While end-to-end encryption effectively protects messages, it is not foolproof against all cyber threats and requires users to actively manage their privacy settings.
As a cybersecurity researcher, I believe continued advances in encryption are necessary to safeguard private communications as the digital privacy landscape evolves.
➡️ Join the El Sol de México channel on WhatsApp so you don’t miss the most important information
How end-to-end encryption works
When you send a message through an app that uses end-to-end encryption, your app acts as a cryptographer and encrypts your message with a cryptographic key. This process transforms your message into a cipher: a mix of seemingly random characters that hide the true essence of your message.
This ensures that the message remains a private exchange between you and the recipient, protected from unauthorized access, whether by hackers, service providers, or surveillance agencies. If some spy intercepted it, he would only see scribbles and would not be able to decipher the message without the decryption key.
When the message reaches its destination, the recipient’s application uses the corresponding decryption key to unlock the message. That decryption key, stored securely on the recipient’s device, is the only key capable of decrypting the message and translating the ciphertext into a readable format.
This form of encryption is called public key or asymmetric cryptography. Each party communicating using this form of encryption has two encryption keys, one public and one private.
You share your public key with whoever wants to communicate with you securely and they use it to encrypt their messages. But that key cannot be used to decrypt your messages. Only your private key, which you don’t share with anyone, can do that.
In practice, you don’t need to think about sharing keys. Messaging apps that use end-to-end encryption handle it behind the scenes. You and the party you are communicating with securely simply use the same application.
Who has end-to-end encryption
Major apps and messaging services use end-to-end encryption to safeguard user privacy.
Apple iMessage integrates end-to-end encryption for messages exchanged between iMessage users, protecting them from external access. However, messages sent or received from non-iMessage users, such as SMS text messages to or from Android phones, do not benefit from this level of encryption.
Google has started rolling out end-to-end encryption for Google Messages, the default messaging app on many Android devices. The company aims to modernize traditional SMS with more advanced features, including greater privacy. However, this encryption is currently limited to one-on-one chats.
Facebook Messenger also offers end-to-end encryption, but it is not enabled by default. Users must start a “secret conversation” to encrypt their messages end-to-end. End-to-end encrypted chats are currently only available in the Messenger app on iOS and Android, not in Facebook chat or messenger.com.
WhatsApp stands out for its strong privacy features, implementing end-to-end encryption by default for all forms of communication within the app.
Signal, often heralded by cybersecurity experts as the gold standard for secure communication, offers end-to-end encryption on all of its messaging and calling features by default. Signal’s commitment to privacy is reinforced by its open source protocol, which allows independent experts to verify its security.
➡️ Subscribe to our Newsletter and receive the most relevant notes in your email
Telegram offers a nuanced approach to privacy. While it provides strong encryption, its standard chats do not use end-to-end encryption. For that, users need to start “Secret Chats”.
Therefore, it is essential not only to understand the privacy functions offered by these platforms, but also to manage their settings to guarantee the highest level of security offered by each application.
* Professor of cybersecurity and computer science, Quinnipiac University.
2024-03-12 11:00:00
#conversations #private #Sun #Mexico
